Nerf guns and silent confessions
by joiedevivre2011
Summary: Jane wanted a Nerf gun for her birthday and she didn't care how ridiculous that was. [one-shot]


This one-shot was inspired by a sentence prompt from the "writeworld" tumblr. I put the sentence at the end, so as not to give it away.

Hope you like it. :)

* * *

"Jane, have you decided what you want for your birthday yet?" came Maura's voice as she walked back through the doorway into the open kitchen and living room, clean dish towel in her hand.

In front of the kitchen sink stood Jane, still in her typical work clothes, washing dishes and grumbling to herself about it. She had been stuck with cleanup duty after dinner, and as usual, she whined about it, but the agreement had always been whoever cooks, the other cleans. "I already told you what I wanted."

Maura rolled her eyes. "I'm not buying you a Nerf gun for your birthday. It's not happening."

Jane turned her head to look at Maura with a frown. "You asked what I want and you're telling me I can't have what I want. How is that fair?"

Approaching her best friend, Maura walked around to Jane's right and held out her hand for the plate Jane had just finished rinsing. Despite the dinner and dishwashing agreement, they also had an unspoken rule that one would wash the dishes while the other dried them. It had simply happened one night and had kept happening ever since. Neither would admit it aloud, but they knew they both enjoyed the closeness. "Well for starters, life isn't fair."

Not appreciating the snarky response, Jane elbowed Maura.

"Ow!"

"That's what I want."

Maura kept drying dishes and putting them away. "Why? There's no reason to have a Nerf gun. Tommy and TJ don't visit very often, but even if they did, TJ won't be old enough to play around with it for at least another year, maybe two."

"Why does the reason have to be for TJ? I may be a grown woman, but that doesn't mean I can't have fun with a toy made for kids." Grumpily she shoved a plate into Maura's hands.

"So you're just going to play by yourself?"

Just as suddenly as her grumpy mood had come, it disappeared. "Nope." She grinned. "We're gonna get one for you too and we're gonna have Nerf wars."

"No."

Jane stopped washing and turned toward her friend. "No? What do you mean no?"

"I mean _no_. No means no. The word has only one definition." Maura placed another clean plate in the appropriate cabinet.

"What do you have against fun?" Jane defiantly dropped the sponge in her hand back into the sink and turned toward her best friend.

"Nothing!" Maura argued, returning to her spot beside Jane. "My definition of fun is just different than yours sometimes. I enjoy activities like fencing and visiting museums."

Jane picked up the sponge again and continued washing dishes. "I like visiting museums too, but only the cool ones with things like dinosaurs and space."

Maura sighed. "I'll consider the Nerf gun."

Quickly Jane turned her head and planted a kiss on the shorter woman's cheek. "You're the best."

Blushing, Maura looked at her best friend. "That doesn't mean I'm going to get it, so don't get your hopes up."

"Consideration is better than a flat-out no." Jane grinned.

* * *

The closer it got to her birthday, the more curious Jane became about her present from her best friend. She tried to sneak around through Maura's house a bit, but had yet to come across anything that could be her present, and especially not anything that could remotely resemble a package containing a Nerf gun. She couldn't lie - it was disappointing.

Finally, the day before her birthday, still empty-handed, Jane decided that on her way to Maura's from work, she'd stop by a toy store somewhere and buy a small Nerf gun. If Maura got her a Nerf gun, they'd both have one. If Maura didn't get her one, then at least Jane had one she could shoot at her best friend with.

Win-win.

She hoped.

When she woke up the next morning, Jane felt a little disoriented, but it didn't take long for her to realize that she was in Maura's bed. It didn't surprise her, though, since it happened often enough. "Mornin', Maura." She rolled over to find an empty bed. "And of course you're not there," she mumbled to herself.

Instead there was an envelope propped against her best friend's pillow that had her name written in elegant script.

A smile tugged at her mouth and she quickly open the envelope. The card was simple, no glitter, no cheesy Hallmark sentiments. A mere _Happy Birthday!_ was inside.

What Maura had written underneath, however, caused a lump in her throat.

 _With every passing year, I become more and more grateful not only that you were born, but also that you are my best friend. Happy Birthday, Jane._

Jane reached for her phone on the nightstand and shot Maura a quick text. _You're sappy_

 _Well I suppose I'll eat all the breakfast I cooked for us if you're so unappreciative._

 _Don't you dare!_

After it was evident that Maura didn't intend to reply, Jane shot out of bed, brushed her teeth, and quickly ran down the stairs. "Maura, please don't eat-"

As soon as she caught sight of her best friend, she froze.

Sitting there at the kitchen island in a light purple, silk nightdress - no-frills, modest, and one Jane had seen a million times before - with her long, reddish-blonde locks pulled back in a low ponytail and no makeup on, Maura was stunning. At Jane's sudden silence, she simply asked, "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Jane shook her head to clear the amorous thoughts suddenly flitting through her mind. "Nothing." She cleared her throat as she walked toward the kitchen island. "I guess I kinda expected you to be eating my breakfast just to mess with me."

"Hardly." Maura smiled. "I have no interest in your breakfast."

With a glance down at her plate on the counter in front of the other bar stool, Jane said, "Damn. Scrambled eggs, bacon, _and_ pancakes?"

Shrugging, Maura replied, "It's your birthday," and took a sip of her coffee.

Jane looked at the food in front of Maura. "Yogurt with granola and fresh strawberries?"

"And scrambled egg whites, but I've already eaten them."

"Aw, you started breakfast without me?" Jane pouted.

"I wanted you to sleep as long as you wanted. However, dear birthday girl, I was too hungry to wait."

Before sliding onto the barstool, Jane kissed Maura gently on the cheek. "Thanks."

Like she did every single time Jane had done so recently, Maura blushed. "You're welcome." The words were barely audible. "After you finish eating, I'll let you open a present."

" _A_ present? As in one of multiple?" Jane's eyebrow rose.

"I will only confirm that there is more than one, yes," Maura replied.

"Sweet!" Jane exclaimed before she settled in to eat before her as quickly as Maura would let her.

About 15 minutes later Jane finished the last bite of pancake and washed it down with coffee. "Present please!" she requested delightfully, prompting Maura to disappear down the hallway for a minute or two before returning.

"Here you go. Happy Birthday," Maura said quietly as she handed Jane her present.

As soon as Jane had a good grip on the box, she shook it a little.

Maura rolled her eyes. "There's no point trying to guess when you can just open it, Jane."

"Hey, it's part of the ritual," Jane defended as she began to unwrap the present. So as not to appear too eager, she did so at a steady pace, mentally crossing her fingers that it'd be some sort of Nerf gun.

"Yes!" she cried out as she caught a glimpse of the contents before she began eagerly opening the packages themselves.

It was. In fact, it was two smaller Nerf guns _and_ a 75 count dart refill.

Suddenly Jane turned in her barstool and pulled Maura toward her, forcing her to stand between her open legs.

Maura gasped at the sudden movements and had to steady herself by putting her hands on Jane's shoulders. Her friend's hands rested low on her hips.

"Thank you," the seated woman said quietly. "Really. I'm excited to play Nerf guns with you." When Maura began to pull back and protest, Jane latched on tighter. "Nope. You bought 'em so you have to play with me. I promise you'll have fun."

"I have a distinct disadvantage," Maura countered as she lowered her arms and rested her hands on top of Jane's thighs. "You're trained in shooting and I am not."

The heat of Maura's hands burned Jane's skin and suddenly she felt butterflies in her stomach. She tried to shake away the feeling. "Eh, it doesn't matter. The point is to be silly and have fun. Do you think you're capable of letting loose and being silly with me?"

Maura frowned. "Just because I never really acted like a child doesn't mean I don't know how to."

"I'm gonna hold you to that, Maura Isles." Jane grinned.

While she could think of several replies, the standing woman remained silent, her mouth twitching in amusement.

* * *

Maura stood before her bathroom mirror and leaned slightly over the counter as she slowly and expertly applied mascara. Her mouth fell open a little as she did so. When she finished, she stuck the wand back into the mascara tube and twisted it closed. The very moment it tightened completely, she felt something hit her hip and she gasped in surprise. Her eyes flew to the mirror as she turned her body slightly to check her skirt in her reflection.

A low chuckle came from the doorway.

There in the doorway stood her best friend with her arms folded across her torso, a Nerf gun still in one hand and a smirk plastered on her face.

Her lips pursed for a second while she set her mascara down and turned toward the doorway. "You've had that for merely an hour and you're already shooting me with it? I'm trying to finish getting ready for work."

"Yeah, well, you take too long. Hurry up. I've gotta get a lot of work done today so I can leave in time for my party tonight." Jane looked at her knowingly.

"Who told you there was a party?" Maura raised an eyebrow.

Jane couldn't help but roll her eyes. "I'm a _detective_ , Maura. Did you seriously think I wouldn't find out about the party you and Ma have been planning?"

Heat rose in Maura's cheeks and she turned back toward the mirror. Before she picked up a tube of lipstick to apply it, she said, "I thought you wouldn't mind a small gathering with family and friends. All of us already get together regularly."

"I just think it's amusing that you thought it could be a surprise." The wavy-haired, dark brunette smiled.

Lipstick tube in hand, Maura turned and walked toward her best friend. Timidly she asked, "You really aren't upset that I tried to plan a surprise party for you?"

"Nah." Jane shrugged. "You know what I'd want better than anyone else, so you know who I'd want to be there."

"Good. I think you'll love it." Maura smiled for a moment before a thought popped into her head, then she frowned. "You're not bringing that Nerf gun to work, are you?"

With a grin Jane replied, "And miss being about to shoot at Frost and Korsak all day while we're doing paperwork? Hell yes I'm bringing it."

"Jane, that's not appropriate."

"Cops carry _real_ guns, Maura. Pretty sure there's no cause for concern with my Nerf gun."

"Fine, but I reserve the right to say I told you so when you get in trouble."

"You're such a goody two-shoes," Jane commented as she swept her arms toward the bedroom, indicating for Maura to start walking. "Okay, let's go."

* * *

Sitting for three hours in the squad room doing paperwork had taken its toll on Jane. She threaded her fingers through her hair and gripped tightly for a moment before letting go and growling to herself.

"You alright there?" Frost asked from his desk across from her.

"Yeah I guess." Jane sighed and looked up at her partner. "I just don't exactly want to be spending my birthday doing fucking paperwork."

"Why didn't you just take today off?"

"Because I took tomorrow off in case I have a hangover."

Frost chuckled. "You and Maura planning to get drunk tonight then?"

Jane sat back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest. "Who said I was gonna be with Maura?"

He just looked at her blankly for a moment.

"Oh give it up. I know about my party."

With a grin, he turned toward Korsak. "Twenty bucks. Pay up."

Korsak instead looked at Jane. "Did Maura spill the beans?"

"Nope! She didn't have to. I'm just that good."

Frost's grin grew. "I take cash and money orders only."

Suddenly the click clack of heels entered the room and all three turned their heads to watch Maura approach them.

"Afternoon, Doc," Frost and Korsak said in unison.

"Good afternoon, Detectives," she replied with a smile. She stopped at her best friend's desk and set down a small stack of manila folders. "I thought since you were doing paperwork, I'd give you the reports I knew you still needed from me."

"Thanks, Maura." Jane looked up at the medical examiner and smiled. "You wanna get coffee in..." She paused as she glanced briefly at her watch. "...an hour?"

"Sure, I"ll meet you in the cafe downstairs," she agreed quietly before she turned around and started to leave.

"Great. See you later!"

Just before Maura reached the doorway, she felt something hit her backside. It was exactly the same feeling from earlier that morning. Immediately she turned and glared at Jane.

But her best friend was busy writing on a piece of paper in front of her, no Nerf gun to be found.

Looking down at the floor, she spotted the foam dart and squatted just enough to pick it up. "You aren't getting this back," she said as she stood tall again and looked at Jane.

"That's okay. I've got plenty of 'em," Jane replied without looking up. She pressed her lips together hard to keep from laughing.

With a frown Maura looked at Frost and then Korsak, both of whom simply shrugged. She shook her head in disapproval and left the room.

* * *

The station cafe was nearly empty, but Maura sat at one of the high-top tables with her iPad in front of her. Jane was running late and for once Maura didn't really mind.

"Here's your tea, Maura," Angela said quietly as she sat the cup and mug in front of her. "I'll bring Jane's coffee as soon as she gets here."

Just then a dart smacked Maura square in the chest and she jerked her head up in the direction it'd come from. "If you hit me with that thing one more time, I will knock you unconscious with it," Maura said with a huff.

"Whoa, hey, you hear that, Ma? She's threatening me!" Jane cried out teasingly as she stuffed the small plastic toy into her blazer pocket.

"I'd threaten you too if I were in Maura's place," Angela replied. "I don't care if it's your birthday or not." She looked at Maura. "I'm not sure how you put up with her sometimes."

"Ma!" Jane nearly screeched. "Whose side are you on?"

Angela tilted her head toward the already seated woman. "Maura's. You're the one going around shooting people with a Nerf gun. Where'd you get that thing anyway?"

Maura cleared her throat and meekly responded, "I gave it to her. For her birthday. It's what she wanted."

Turning to face Maura completely, Angela put her hand on her hip and looked at her pseudo-daughter sternly. "Well, there goes my sympathy for you. What'd you expect her to do with it? Knock over empty bottles and cans?"

Jane slid onto the high-top table stool and folded her arms over her chest. A smug look overcame her face.

Instead of responding, Maura cradled the teacup in her hands and brought it to her lips to take a sip. She avoided eye contact with both women and set the cup back down.

"Okay, girls, I've gotta get back to work." Angela pointed at Jane. "Jane, stop shooting at Maura." Then she turned toward Maura and placed her left hand on Maura's shoulder, which prompted Maura to meet her gaze. "And you, don't take it lying down. Fight back."

"Ma, c'mon!"

Angela merely chuckled and walked away, saying, "I'll bring you coffee in a minute."

* * *

Slowly Maura tiptoed down the hallway, very grateful that she had yet to put her shoes back on. She had let Jane be silly on her birthday and shoot her with the Nerf gun, but she absolutely agreed with Angela. Why should Jane be the one having all the fun? Obviously she wouldn't have the accuracy that Jane had - that would never be possible - but she'd been with Jane often enough to the shooting range to be a pretty decent shot. Besides, it was only a toy gun with a foam dart. Accuracy wasn't particularly required.

When she bought Jane's present several days before, she had also bought a Nerf gun, only 3 darts, simply because it was smaller. Suddenly she was grateful because she'd never have been able to get to Jane's spare Nerf gun without being noticed.

Jane had been sitting at the kitchen island when Maura left her to go upstairs to finish getting ready. She'd been drinking a beer and flipping through a magazine.

The "surprise" party was supposed to be at 7:30pm at the Dirty Robber, but the plan was just that Jane and Maura were going to dinner because that's where Jane wanted to go.

It was now 7pm and they needed to leave within the next 10 minutes.

Maura poked her head just barely enough into the doorway to see into the kitchen.

Jane was still at the kitchen island.

Maura jerked her head back and held the Nerf gun tightly in her right hand. She was nervous. Why was she nervous? The entire situation was silly, and after all, hadn't she told Jane she was definitely capable of having fun?

One thing she knew was that Jane's peripheral vision was phenomenal, so Maura had only one chance to take the shot before Jane launched a counterattack.

Taking a deep breath, in one fluid motion, Maura stepped fully into the doorway, lifted her arms to shoulder level, closed her left eye to aim, and pulled the trigger.

Jane's head whipped around at the clicking sound and felt something hit her upper arm at the same time.

Her best friend was standing in the kitchen doorway with a Nerf gun in her hand - not one of the ones Maura had bought for her - and grinning like the Cheshire cat.

"Ohhhh no, you don't!" the wavy-haired brunette cried before she leaned sideways to the opposite end of the kitchen and grabbed the Nerf gun she had set down when she'd first arrived. Glancing quickly, she saw two darts and cursed to herself. She'd reloaded after hitting Maura the third time earlier that afternoon and had managed to get in a hit on Frost and Korsak, and two on Frankie, but she adh never reloaded.

Just then, another dart struck her in the middle of her back and she whipped back around before lifting her left arm and pulling the trigger of her own Nerf gun.

Maura let out a squeal and lifted her arms to cover her head as much as she could. The dart hit her right in the stomach. She started laughing and jumped back into the hallway to hide again.

"I see you bought your own Nerf gun," Jane teased. "But you made a mistake because mine holds more darts."

"Sure, but I already know you only have one more dart because I saw how many it had when you got here." Maura's heart was racing with excitement.

"How do you know I didn't reload?" Jane asked.

"Did you?" the honey blonde called back.

"Guess you'll just have to find out, won't you?"

Maura took a deep breath and quickly tried to formulate a plan. She could assume that Jane only had one dart left, but as she knew, assuming didn't always end well.

But what did it matter? How did someone win playing with Nerf guns? Was it whoever got the most hits with the same number of darts? Was it like fencing where it only counted within a target area?

Plan configured, she smiled to herself and moved quickly back down the hallway to the stairs. This time around, however, she didn't have to be as quiet as possible, simply quick, and she knew that she could still make it relatively quietly up the stairs pretty fast.

More than halfway up, she felt a dart hit her back and she couldn't help but laugh. Freezing on the spot, she turned and looked at Jane at the base of the stairs. She smirked. "How many do you have left?"

Despite the fact that Jane was still aiming at Maura, the expression on Jane's face said everything that Maura needed to know.

With a grin, Maura drew the Nerf gun quickly before aiming toward Jane's lower body and pulling the trigger.

The foam dart just barely missed Jane's left knee.

For several moments the two simply stood in place and stared each other in the eyes.

In a chivalrous gesture, eyes still locked on Maura's, Jane squatted slowly and left the plastic toy gun on the ground before she stood back up with her hands up in surrender.

Maura tried her best to hide a smile, but didn't manage it. Before she could even decide on a next step, Jane was bounding quickly up the stairs toward her. Her mind scrambled to catch up, but she'd only managed to turn around, arms in front of her on the stairs as she lost her balance, when Jane reached her on her right side. She let out loud laugh as she stopped and tossed the Nerf gun hard enough over the top of the stairs for it to land at least halfway down the hallway.

Immediately Jane stopped and turned her head slowly toward her best friend, a look of disbelief written on her face.

"We're gonna be late," Maura said suddenly, trying to distract Jane.

"Shoulda thought of that before shooting me with a Nerf gun," Jane replied as she scrambled the rest of the way up the stairs.

Calmly Maura stood up and took the last few steps to the top just as Jane picked up the plastic gun and turned toward her. Maura raised an eyebrow and then started laughing. Jane tilted the Nerf gun back toward her. "Shit." Then her expression changed to amusement and she hastily reached into her left pocket, pulling out a dart and shoving it into one of the chambers. Once again she took aim.

Maura held up her hands in surrender. "Okay. You win."

Jane eyed her skeptically.

"Jane," Maura said, rolling her eyes, "do you see what I'm wearing? Where would I hide a Nerf gun?"

"Fine," the taller woman replied, lowering the Nerf gun. "You ready to go now?"

With a shake of her head, Maura said, "No, but almost. I just need to pick out jewelry." She began walking toward her bedroom.

"What's wrong with what you wore today?" Jane asked.

Maura simply replied, "I have pieces that coordinate better with this outfit."

Jane sat on the side of the bed as Maura continued into her closet to her jewelry box. "Do I have to act surprised about the party? Korsak and Frost and Frankie already know that I know."

"No," the other woman called from the closet. "I already told your mother you figured it out."

"Oh thank god," Jane breathed out in relief.

"Jane, would you come here please? I'm having trouble with this necklace."

Leaving the Nerf gun on the bed, Jane slowly walked toward the closet, feeling as if she were walking into a trap. Hesitantly she poked her head around the doorway, but Maura was simply standing in front of her full-length mirror, actually struggling to fasten the necklace. She walked toward the shorter woman and took the necklace from the other woman's hands. "You're trembling," Jane observed, voice full of concern as she fastened the piece of silver jewelry.

"Too much adrenaline, I think," Maura replied quietly as she finally met Jane's dark eyes in the mirror.

The atmosphere in the room became suddenly charged, like it had many times before.

Seeing a certain look in the darkened hazel eyes that stared back at her, Jane shifted even closer to Maura, their bodies now flush together. Hesitantly she placed her hands on Maura's hips, and when there was no protest, she slowly began to wrap her arms around a thin waist.

Instinctively Maura crossed her arms over top of Jane's and leaned into the embrace. She gave Jane a small smile in the mirror and it was immediately returned.

"You're still trembling," the taller woman said, voice low in Maura's ear.

The sensation of Jane's breath on her ear forced a shiver to run through Maura's body and her breath hitched.

"I become more and more grateful for you too, you know," Jane said quietly, wanting to use the words Maura had written in her birthday card to show that she herself felt the same. "You've become the most important person in my life."

"Mine too," Maura whispered.

"Thank you for the Nerf guns." Their gazes remained locked and Jane's voice was suddenly dripping with sensuality.

Maura swallowed hard, instantly unable to speak when she felt Jane's lips graze her neck.

"And thank you for making me breakfast."

Without thought, the shorter woman's head tilted just barely to the right.

"Why don't we just skip the party?" Jane suggested. "I think having our own would be much more fun." She placed another kiss along the sensitive skin beneath her lips.

Hazel eyes fluttered closed. "Oh, we can't," Maura breathed out. "Your mother would be too upset."

"You're denying me birthday sex?" Jane husked.

Maura reopened her eyes. "Not denying exactly. More like requesting a delay based on current circumstances. But who said we were going to have sex anyway?"

"Your body did, which means, knowing you, your mind did too, and not to mention you've only said no because of having to leave."

"I promise after the party," the honey blonde assured her. "As much of it as our bodies can handle, but we _cannot_ miss your party."

Jane, with the last bit of determination she had, crooned in Maura's ear, "You sure?"

"Positive. Unfortunately."

Letting out a growl, the tall woman pulled away and said, "You owe me big time."

Immediately Maura turned around and caught Jane's hand to spin her back around. Lifting a hand to cup Jane's jaw, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed her best friend for the first time. It was passionate and demanding, and Jane quickly wrapped one arm around her to hold her close. When she pulled back, her eyes met Jane's darkened gaze. "Don't worry," she said quietly. "I'll more than deliver."

* * *

The sentence was: Hit me with that one more time, and I will knock you unconscious with it.


End file.
